


he didn't have to be

by laserbrain



Series: home is the nicest word there is [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Adult Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time), Gen, Hook being a step-dad, i literally don't care about the timeline so there's also that, the captain swan of it is there but not Present, the relationship I wish we got to see more of, they really do be talking about Henry being a dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24397795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laserbrain/pseuds/laserbrain
Summary: “Sleep seems to be eluding you, huh, my boy?” Henry startled at the sound of his stepfather’s voice breaking the early morning silence he’d found at the kitchen table.“Yeah, you too?”Killian settled in the chair across from him with a smile, “I heard those pesky stairs creak. Thought I’d give you some time to yourself before coming to bother you.”orHenry talks through some pre-fatherhood panic with Killian
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones & Henry Mills, Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan
Series: home is the nicest word there is [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1761709
Comments: 6
Kudos: 83





	he didn't have to be

**Author's Note:**

> I watched "Dark Waters" again (and thought of one of my favorite songs) and I just had to do this one
> 
> Disclaimer: I tried to figure out the damn timeline for d a y s before I decided I just do not care that much, so this is set wherever your heart desires

“Sleep seems to be eluding you, huh, my boy?” Henry startled at the sound of his stepfather’s voice breaking the early morning silence he’d found at his parent’s kitchen table. 

“Yeah, you too?” 

Killian settled in the chair across from him with a smile, “I heard those pesky stairs creak. Thought I’d give you some time to yourself before coming to bother you.”

“Sorry,” Henry apologized, running a hand down his own face.

“It’s no matter, I had your mother’s bloody elbow in my side, anyway,” Killian waved him off, “What seems to be troubling you, mate?”

Henry raised an eyebrow, “So, it’s ‘mate’ now?”

“You’re to be a father, I can hardly call you a lad these days,” the older man laughed, “Although truth be told, you’ll always be that twelve-year-old boy to me, no matter how many children you may have.”

Henry found himself staring at his hands as Killian’s words echoed in his head. He’d come home to tell his family the news; he was going to be a dad. 

He was damn excited about it.

He learned quickly that the excitement didn’t dampen the fear; it was always late at night when it crept in. He’d been in a hundred battles, faced a thousand monsters, and stared death in its face more times than he could count.

Yet, nothing scared him more than the thought of having a child of his own.

“Quite rude of you,” Killian went on when Henry didn’t respond, “Do I look old enough to be someone’s _grandfather_ to you?”

“You might not _look_ old enough, but we all know you could have been someone’s eighth _great_ -grandfather by now.”

Killian smirked, “You and your mother always did share the same sense of humor.”

He surveyed the man sitting before him. When he had first met Killian, he never imagined that the pirate would be the man sitting with him at three in the morning as he experienced one of his first bouts of pre-parenthood panic. His own father was still alive back then, but life had other plans for Neal.

In his dad’s absence, Hook did nothing but prove himself every day for over a decade. Killian was there for all the milestones; from his first girlfriend to his marriage, and everything in between. A consistent presence that Henry knew he would always be able to call on, no matter what may be thrown at him.

Sitting across from him wasn’t just his mom’s husband or the father of his half-sister and brother.

Maybe it wasn’t biological, but Killian was his dad, too.

Henry cleared his throat, “I never thanked you.”

“For?” 

“For always being there for me,” Henry shrugged, “You never tried to replace my dad, but you still filled that role even when I was a little jerk. I don’t know how you did it.”

“I would never have tried to replace your father, Henry,” Killian replied, his voice earnest. 

“I know,” Henry smiled, “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I hope I’m at least half the dad you didn’t have to be.”

“Ah, I see,” Killian laughed, “this is about your impending fatherhood?”

He nodded.

“You needn’t worry about that, alas, you will; it’s natural,” Killian leaned forward to rest his forearms on the table, “But you are going to make a bloody brilliant father.”

“You think so?”

“Aye,” Killian nodded, “The first thing to being a father is knowing how to tell a good story; you already can do that.”

“You’re kidding.”

“A tad, yes,” Killian chuckled, “but when they get older, it _is_ essential.”

Henry rolled his eyes, “Good to know.” 

“Listen,” Killian then grew serious, “you’re going to be scared from now until the baby is here. Then, they’re going to place that child in your arms, and you’re going to look down at his or her face, and you’re going to know that you would stop at nothing to give them the world.”

“Really?” It was a little hard to believe, given the way he was feeling.

“Your fears will vanish. From that moment on, every breath you take is going to be for that kid. If you go about it that way, you can do no wrong,” Killian shrugged, “At least that’s how it happened for me.”

“You seem pretty confident in me,” Henry observed.

“That’s because I’ve watched you grow into the man sitting before me, and I know you can do this, Henry.”

He had spent so many nights already letting the fear grab hold of his brain. Fragments still remained, but Killian’s words settled in his mind providing peace he hadn’t been able to find himself.

No matter how scared he was now, everything _would_ be alright.

Henry let out a deep breath, “I don’t know what else to say besides, thank you.”

“Just doing my job,” Killian held his hand up, “I’m going to do it again right now by saying you should go get some rest. Those little demons you call your siblings like to wake up at the break of dawn and, well, they have no respect for sleeping adults.”

Henry chuckled, “You gonna do the same?”

“No, I usually rise soon anyway,” Killian shook his head, “Old habits die hard.”

“So they say. Alright then,” Henry smiled, standing from the table and making his way toward the stairs. Stopping halfway through, he turned back towards the kitchen where Killian still sat, “Goodnight, Dad.”

“Goodnight, lad.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've been rewatching OUAT like it's my job, so I've decided to do a liiiittle series. They'll most likely all be short and fluffy because that's how I'm feeling lately
> 
> Thank you, everyone!


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